Back in mid-August, Simple pushed out version 2.0 of its app, bringing with it a bold, yet simplistic new interface, as well as a handful of other new features. Now the company is pushing version 2.1 to the Play Store (as well as Appstore for iOS devices), which brings a couple more useful features to the table.

First off, Wear support. As of now, Simple will send push notifications to your Wear device, which includes both support messages and transaction notifications. Hooray for not having to pick up your phone when notifications come in.

Secondly, there's now an option to attach an image to transactions. When adding a note to remember what you bought simply isn't enough, this should do the trick – pictures don't lie! Unless it's on the internet, then it's more questionable. Fortunately if you're the one taking the picture to attach to a transaction, it should be legit. Hopefully.

iOS also got a handful of useful features, but I'll just direct you to Simple's blog post for those details – we are an Android blog, after all.

Even after using an invite, or did you just apply and haven't heard back?

Jimmy Baez

I've made an account, but whenever I try to log in the app it says my account is pending. It's been like that for weeks now.

Tristan Hammond

Oh man, that's a bummer. I wonder if it's while they deal with the fallout of the recent issues?

They recently built their own transactional backend instead of using something 3rd party, and it caused issues for some folks.

Let me know if you need an invite in the future or something. =]

nxtiak

I've got invites you want them. I was able to sign up earlier this year without an invite.

William Forsyth

I'd appreciate one - wkforsythfamily at gmail dot com

nxtiak

Sent. Check your email

William Forsyth

I appreciate it - unfortunately looks like they have paused even their referral system - "Thanks for signing up to try Simple! We've temporarily paused bringing on new customers, but we've got your email address, and we'll send you a signup link as soon as we're ready"

What additional Android Wear features were actually brought to the app? Notification mirroring is a basic feature of Android Wear, and the video preview only showed an option to "open on phone", another basic feature. What am I missing?

Anthony Castanza

I was already getting the notifications from Simple mirrored on my G watch with the previous version, I don't know if they've changed anything with the notification card yet, I'll report back later today if I remember to check after buying something.

twaddington

We actually didn't do much in the way of Wear support. However, we did some basic work to make it easier for us to support more Wear features in the future. Photo attachments was the big feature this release.

Do you guys plan on redesigning the app down the line to coincide with the Material design spec? A Simple app in Material design would be the epitome of meta :D

twaddington

We're very excited about Material Design and definitely plan on moving in that direction as the design concepts are solidified.

nxtiak

I still hate how thin the fonts are and the colors. Thin gray text on top of lighter gray background....

ga92

If anyone needs an invite, I got you

thew

I'd love an invite. Is there a way for me to securely send you my email?

Guest

If you could send one my way I'd appreciate it greatly - wkforsythfamily at gmail dot com

dotbran

Yo, "simple" and "simplistic" have totally opposite connotation.

didibus

How are they as a checking account banking? Is it a no fee, dividend with good APY account? Is transferring money out and into free? Do they have good ATM coverage?

Tristan Hammond

it's a no-fee account. I think there's a minimum amount you need to transfer into it when you open (like $150 or $200 or something), but there's no actual minimum balance, no minimum card use, etc.

If you don't use your account for (I think it's) 9 months, they'll do a small transaction to have activity take place so that it doesn't fall into legal jurisdiction for the gov't to have access to your account.

Transferring money in and out using ACH is free on their end, but if your other bank charges for ACH then you'll have to pay for that.

The only fees they ever charge are when you ask them to do a service that actually costs them money. So like if you try to send money overseas and there's a $5 fee or whatever, they'll make you pay that $5. Or if you take money out from an ATM owned by a business or bank that charges you a fee, you have to pay that. Pretty fair, IMO.

Their ATM coverage is with STARsf, which includes Target, Walmart, 711, PNC Bank and a *ton* of small businesses. I think it's like 50-60k ATMs in the country. Those are all fee-free. Theres an ATM finder in the app, and I've actually been surprised at how great the coverage is.

Also, using things like Square Cash is super helpful. Since Simple moved to their own payment processing backend, things are *insanely* fast. Usually using my card, getting rent from my girlfriend via Square Cash, whatever, is posted via notification in less than 2 seconds. Not an exaggeration. Heh.

I tested it out for about 18 months before committing to it as my main bank; they've been my go-to for about 7 months now and things just keep improving and getting better. I love it. I'm never going back. Haha.

That all said, there are caveats. If you're frequently coming into cash, this may not be the bank for you. Me, personally, I hate cash. I hate carrying it.

Currently there are no joint accounts, but it's something they're working on.

Also, you can't currently use their quick pay system for non-Simple bankers, but that's also something they're planning for the future.

If you have any other use questions, don't hesitate to hit me up. I love talking about the nerdiness of things. Ha.